Improved marine railway



Cllnlted states ,atrio @wird the manner usual.

PRIMUS EMERSON, OF CARON-DELET, MISSOURI.

Lem-fs Patent No. 93,868, dazed August 17, 1869.

Theschedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making pari: of the same.

, L To all whom tt may concern Be it known that I, PRLuUs EMERSON, of Garondelet, in the county of St. Louis, and State of Missouri, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Marine Railways; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and true description thereof, reference being -had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letteis of reference marked thereon.

This invention relateslto the ways and carriages, or cradles used in drawing and supporting vessels out of water for purposes of repairs to said vessels; and

The nature of this invention is, rst, in the al1-angement and operation of the machinery for drawing the .Cradles outof water and moving theni upon the ways; secondly, in the method of equalizing the tensionof the drawing-chains or cables upon the cradles-5 thirdly, in the devices for guiding they cradles and supporting vessels on the same.

To enable those herein skilled' to make and use my said invention, I will now more fully describe the same, referring herein to theaccompanyingi Figure l as a longitudinal sectional elevation; to

Figure 2 as a plan; to

Figure 3 as rear end view.

I support the ways A upon proper cross-bearers, in Said'ways run into the water a suiicient distance, and lise up, as they extend upon the land, with a proper inclination, so that a vessel supported upon the cradles B may be drawn up on said ways,`beyond the reach of the dood, and thus be repaired in the manner now usual.

The cradles B are stout frames, usually of wood, the side timbers whereof rest, by rollers b, upon the said ways A.

In order to guide the cradles properly in their movement, I arrange the side guide-rollers b1 upon vertical spindles b2, securedby proper plates b against the cradle timbers. n

The ways A have a raised tread, a, on the vertical sides whereof the rollers b press, and are guided thus,

steadying the cradle in its movement, and avoiding the friction attendant upon the use of flanged wheels and similar devices.

Upon said cradles, I arrange the slides C, there heilig channelled timbers resting upon the top c of the cradle.

By oiling or gl'easing the top pieces c, the slides C will move and adjust themselves and the superpoised vessel, independent of the position of the cradle.

Proper stops will be attached, preventing the slides (l from disconnecting themselves-from the cradle. By moving the slide von one side of a cradle, an adjustment ofthe weight resting on the cradle itself is possible.

The vessel or other object is supported upon the The cradles .B are drawn upon the ways A by endless `chains D, passing over the roller d, and propelled ,by the hexagon disks E upon the shaft e.

The attachment of said cradles to said chains is as follows:

A thaughtpchain, F, connects by proper hook with the chains D. VSaid chains F connect withthe rods j', at the ends whereof are chains fl, passing over pulleys G, iirmly secured in the rear of the cradles B.

The ends of the chains f1 are `joined by a bar, f2, and thus the cradle is secured, andany inequalityin tension at the twopoints of attachments ofthe chains F to the chains D is equalizcd.

The shaft c, before mentioned, has the screw gearwheel H, propelled by the worm I, upon the shaft i. Said shaft again has the bevel-wheel K engaging with the two bevel-pinions L and L', both upon the propelling-shaft M and turning loosely thereon, unless secured by the. clutch-devices now to he described.

On the shaft M, I arrangethe sleeve m, inoved by the lever N, by hand of operator. Said sleeve has a feather-connection with the shaft- M, and is therefore always propelled by the shaft.

At each end ofthe sleeve m are clutch-teeth m', and in moving the sleeve by the lever N toward one or the other of said bevel-pinions L L', the clutchteeth m engage upon proper pins l l', respectively,

upon said pinions, and thus secure the same, for the` time being, to said shaft.

It is therefore apparent, that by moving the lever N to clutch one or the other pinion `L or L', the gearwheel K is rotated in one direction or in the reversed direction, as desired, and, therefore, without rreversingr the movement of theengine or other power rotating the shaft M, the movement of the cradles may be reversed.

Again, as each cradle is arranged with its own lever N'and connecting parts, and all cradles m'ay be operated by one shaft, M, it is nevertheless in the power of the operator, by use of the lever N, as above indicated, to move one cradle upwardly and any other omdle downwardly, if required, and thus the positions of cradles relative to each other may be adjusted.

Having thus fully described my invention,

1. The chains D, disks E, shaft e, screw-wheel H, aud worm I, operating substantially as and for the purposes set fo1th.

2. The bevel-Wheel K' and pinions'L L', operated, in combination with the power-shaft M, by a. clutch-device, m fm', substantially as and' for the purposes set forth.

,3. The attachment of 'the Vflratugh'1a-chains F to the main-chains D, and their connection with v the cradle,

in such manner as to equalize the draught on the cradle, substantially as set forth. Y

4. The slides O, arranged ou the cradles, substantiolly as andfor the purpose set forth.

5. The cradles B, supported upon rollers b and guidedby rollers b1, in combination with the Ydraught` ,chains F and equaliziug-shezwes G, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Witnesses: PRIMUS EMERSON.'

Guo. P. HERTHEL, J r., W1LLIAu W. HERTHEL. 

